Wednesday, March 25, 2009

'I remember sitting in jail, thinking to myself that I may never get out of here,' said falsely accused man

Comment: A man is firing back and suing his false accuser. He claims they had consensual sex but that when her mother discovered a bounced check to Planned Parenthood (where the young woman had obtained a morning-after pill), she concocted the lie about the sexual assault. If he's correct, let's hope he wins -- and chases after her assets with the tenacity of Fred Goldman going after O.J. Simpson.

GREELEY — A former University of Northern Colorado student who was banned from campus because of a false accusation of rape is now suing his accuser.

Paul Seabrooks, 23, now a psychology student at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C., filed suit in Weld County District Court, claiming a woman with whom he had sex in fall of 2006 owes him at least $30,000 for lost income and destroying his reputation at the school.

"I remember sitting in jail, thinking to myself that I may never get out of here," Seabrooks said.

"And she was outside, living her life, not really thinking about what she put me through."

Seabrooks' accuser declined to comment Friday. Although her name appears in the civil filing, The Denver Post does not publish the names of alleged victims in sexual assault cases.

The woman claimed Seabrooks raped her in the fall of 2006 after her mother discovered a check to Planned Parenthood had bounced, according to the lawsuit.

Seabrooks was charged with sexual assault, but Weld prosecutors dropped the case in February 2007, before his preliminary hearing.

Still, Seabrooks was expelled from school, and his picture was displayed on UNC's website as one of 14 people banned from campus. His photo was also distributed in the local media, according to the lawsuit.

Seabrooks claims he lost his student loans — including funds from his GI Bill — and was evicted from his apartment.

Seabrooks said while a student at UNC he worked at the school's Marcus Garvey Center, trying to unify the black students on campus. He met the woman at the Garvey Center and on Sept. 16, 2006, she invited him to her room at Belford Hall.

The two had consensual sex, followed by Seabrooks' leaving to get a sandwich. The woman buzzed Seabrooks back into the dorm and let him back into her room, where they had sex for a second time, according to the suit.

They discussed her getting the morning-after pill and two days later, the woman messaged Seabrooks telling him she had obtained the pill.

But when her mother discovered the bounced check, the woman "concocted a story of sexual assault," the suit said.

"This girl with her story did a lot of damage to legitimate rape victims," said Seabrooks' attorney, Shannon Lyons.